Thrum ventilating skeletal mophead



April 30, 1963 J. G. ARGERIS ,0

THRUM VENTILATING SKELETAL MOPHEAD Filed Aug. '7, 1961 ATTORNEY Stes fifice 3,087,182 THRUM VENTILATING SKELETAL MOPHEAD John G. Argeris, 8 Leander St, Danielson, Conn. Filed Aug. 7, 1961, Ser. No. 129,833 7 Claims. (Cl. 15-153) This invention relates to a mophead of skeletonized construction that leaves exposed for quick and thorough drying a maximum surface of the body of mop threads or thrums that are clamped and releasably held by the mophead.

Mopheads, wielded by a long straight handle or mopstick as heretofore constructed for clamping and holding the fibrous or absorbent thrums of a floor washing wet mop, usually cover so as to isolate from exposure to free air a considerable surface area of the clamped body of mop threads. This defeates ability of the mop threads to dry quickly and thoroughly in the region of the thus clamped thrums and has resulted in keeping a sizable part of the fibrous substance of the mop perpetually soggy between times of using the mop. Also dirt mixed with odoriferous soap becomes trapped in crevices of such previous structures. The fibrous substance becomes sour and foul smelling and subject to early rotting and deterioration.

It is an object of the present improvement to provide a mophead that is operative to firmly hold and quickly release a body of mop threads for replacement and in a way to preclude or minimize rotting, mildew and the other deleterious effects of storing mops with their wet thrums deprived of drying ventilation.

A related object is so to construct a mop head that there is an absolute minimum of shielding from ventilation of the fibrous materials of the body of mop threads whereby to produce maximum exposure of the surface of the threads to free for quick and thorough drying of the mop after each use.

Another object is so to construct a mop head that all exposure of sharp metallic edges and corners is done away with thus to avoid scratching and marring baseboards, furniture bases, etc., standing on the floor being mopped, as well as to avoid all sharp protuberances of metal that could be caught onto by the wet thrums of the mop when switched about in use of the mop.

Still another object is to make it unnecessary to manually hold two separable, thrum clamping parts of a mop head in parallel relation when screwing the mopstick onto the mophead particularly where the shapes of the two clamp parts do not mutually conform in a manner to prevent displacement from relatively parallel relationship.

These and other objects of the invention will become clear in greater particular from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention having reference to the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the separable parts of a mop incorporating the present improvements.

FIG. 2 is a central cross sectional view of the parts in FIG. 1 assembled in condition for use as a mop.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in section on the plane 33 in FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a view taken in section on the plane 44 in FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The mop shown in the drawings may comprise a conventional wooden handle or mopstick 12 equipped at its bottom end with a preferably metallic ferrule 13 in the top or socket portion of which the bottom end portion of handle 12 is a tight fit and secured by any conventional means such as a through rivet 14. The opposite end of ferrule 13 may be reduced in diameter and contains a threaded hole 15 to serve as a nut to be screwed removably onto one of the following described parts of the mophead.

The present invention is particularly concerned with improved construction of two thrum clamping and holding members. The body of mop threads or thrums 18 is herein shown, merely to illustrate the invention, as tightly Wrapped about with a flexible fabric or canvas band 19, the whole being penetrated by a grommet 20 which may be of metal. The margins of the flexible band 19 are sewed together clear through the mop threads by stitching 21.

For purposes of the invention hereinbefore recited one of the members of the mop head comprises an elongate skeletal clamp frame 24 consisting of rod-like rails 25 laterally separated by a substantial space throughout most of their lengths and joined at their ends by transversely extending looped portions 26 of the rails 25. The rails are rigidly connected at a point central of their lengths by a yoke 27 of short extent lengthwise of the rails. This yoke contains a central aperture 28 and bridges the space between the rails. Aperture 28 is fiat sided as shown.

For thrum holding cooperation with clamp frame 24, I provide a T-shaped clamp 32 which includes in uniplanar relationship oppositely extending, longitudinally aligned, stiff, rod-like arms 33 which are substantially thinner than the space that separates rails 25. Branching from the meeting point of arms 33 is a mounting shank 34 rigid with and perpendicularly related to the arms 33 and adapted to pass slidable through and be withdrawn from aperture '28 in yoke 27. Shank 34 is externally screw threaded at as the opposite side of clamp frame 34 from the arms 33 to thereat be engaged by the handle ferrule or nut 13 which can thus be screwed down on shank 34 against the yoke 27. This draws the clamp arms 33 toward skeletal frame 24 and tightly squeezes the fabric-bound length of the mop threads between the frame 24 and arms 33 as shown in FIG. 4. A flat 36 on shank 34 fits hole 28.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the looped end portions 26 of the parallel rails 25 are seen to be lipped away from a common plane containing the rails and the yoke 27 is seen to be offset from such plane at the same side thereof as the looped portions 26. This affords increased space for the body of mop threads to bulge where they leave the squeezed confinement of the ends of the mophead members 24 and 32. This also provides space to accommodate the free ends of clamp arms 33 which are forced into relatively close proximity to the looped and outwardly lipped rail portions 26 because the arms 33 incline toward the clamp frame 24 from their point of meeting and joinder with shank 34. FIG. 2 shows that this squeezes the thrums most firmly at the ends of arms 33 in the region of the rod loops 26 and prevents accidental escape of the thrums from any part of the mophead.

The above described principles of contruction can be embodied as a welded together assembly of round rodlike elements or can be duplicated in shape by casting each clamp member as an integral body. A casting for this purpose will be distinguished from ordinary mop clamping devices by the same staggered or lateral spacing of its relatively offset rails, corresponding to rails 25, in relation to the clamp arms 33. When rails 25 are made individually strong enough the transversely extending extent of looped portions 26 thereof may be omitted.

These and other departures from the exact shapes and relationship of parts herein disclosed to illustrate the invention are contemplated and intended to be covered by the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a mop having a handle removably secured to a ass /nee fully removable mophead for releasably clamping and holding. a body of thrum-s, cooperative completely separable thrum clamping and holding members comp-rising, an elongate skeletal clamp frame including rod-like rails laterally separated by a substantial space throughout most of their lengths and joined at their ends by transversely extending looped portions of said rails, an apertured rigid yoke bridging the space between said rails at a central point in their length, a T-shaped clamp member including in ,uniplanar relationship oppositely extending longitudinally aligned stiff rod-like anns substantially thinner than said space between the rails,,a mounting shank rigid with said arms and branching from the meeting point of said arms in perpendicular relation thereto, said shank being adapted to pass slidably through and be withdrawn from an aperture in said yoke and having an end portion projecting outward therebeyond, and a mop handle equipped at its end with a socket having means, releasable to retain said projecting end portion of said shank therein and sufficiently deep to permit said handle end and said clamp member to be drawn toward each other into close enough proximity to cause said member to clamp said body of thrums against said clamp frame with substantially the full surfaces of both sides of the body of thrums exposed to ambient air, whereby both said clamp member and said clamp frame are free to be separated completely from each other and from said handle to permit unencumbered removal and replacement of said body of mop thrums.

2. In a handle equipped mophead as described in claim 1, cooperative separable thrum clamping and holding members as defined in said claim, in which the said rodlike rails are straight and parallel in a common plane and the said looped portions of said rails are lipped outward from said plane. 7

3. In a handle equipped mophead as described in claim 1, cooperative separable thrum clamping and holding members as defined in said claim, in which the said rodlike rails are straight and parallel in a common plane and the said yoke is bowed outward from said plane.

4. -In a handle equipped mophead as described in claim 1, cooperative separable thrum clamping and holding members as defined in said claim, in which the said rodlike rails are straight and parallel in a common plane and the said looped portions of said rails are lipped outward from said plane and the said yoke is offset outward from said plane at the same side thereof as said looped portions of said rails.

5. In a handle equipped mophead as described in claim 1, cooperative separable thrum clamping and holding members as defined in said claim, in which the said rodlike clamp arms incline toward the said skeletal clamp frame from the said meeting point thereof to the free ends thereof located adjacent the said looped portions of the said rails.

6. In a mop having a handle equipped with a fully removable mophead as described in claim 1, cooperative completely separable thrum clamping and holding members as defined in said claim, in which the said rod-like arms of the said T-shaped clamp members are solid and have a circular cross section of less diameter than the said space that separates the said rod-like rails of the said clamp frame, whereby substantially the full surfaces of both sides of the said body of mop thrums are free from air-excluding contact either with said. T-shaped clamp member or with said clamp frame when clamped and held between said member and frame.

7. In a mop having a handle equipped with a fully re movable mophead as described in claim 1, completely separable thrum clamping and holding members as defined in said claim, in which the said clamp frame comprises a solid stilt wire of circular cross section bent to conform substantially to the outline of an elongate relatively narrow rectangle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 54,104 Buchanan Apr. 24, 1866 111,161 Wetmore Jan. 24, 1871 1,110,981 Andrews Sept. 15, 1914 r 1,756,404 Timberlake Apr. 29, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 49,394 Norway Oct. 12, 1931 

1. IN A MOP HAVING A HANDLE REMOVABLY SECURED TO A FULLY REMOVABLE MOPHEAD FOR RELEASABLY CLAMPING AND HOLDING A BODY OF THRUMS, COOPERATIVE COMPLETELY SEPARABLE THRUM CLAMPING AND HOLDING MEMBERS COMPRISING, AN ELONGATE SKELETAL CLAMP FRAME INCLUDING ROD-LIKE RAILS LATERALLY SEPARATED BY A SUBSTANTIAL SPACE THROUGHOUT MOST OF THEIR LENGTHS AND JOINED AT THEIR ENDS BY TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING LOOPED PORTIONS OF SAID RAILS, AN APERTURED RIGID YOKE BRIDGING THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID RAILS AT A CENTRAL POINT IN THEIR LENGTH, A T-SHAPED CLAMP MEMBER INCLUDING IN UNIPLANAR RELATIONSHIP OPPOSITELY EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALIGNED STIFF ROD-LIKE ARMS SUBSTANTIALLY THINNER THAN SAID SPACE BETWEEN THE RAILS, A MOUNTING SHANK RIGID WITH SAID ARMS AND BRANCHING FROM THE MEETING POINT OF SAID ARMS IN PERPENDICULAR RELATION THERETO, SAID SHANK BEING ADAPTED TO PASS SLIDABLY THROUGH AND BE WITHDRAWN FROM AN APERTURE IN SAID YOKE AND HAVING AN END PORTION PROJECTING OUTWARD THEREBEYOND, AND A MOP HANDLE EQUIPPED AT ITS END WITH A SOCKET HAVING MEANS RELEASABLE TO RETAIN SAID PROJECTING END PORTION OF SAID SHANK THEREIN AND SUFFICIENTLY DEEP TO PERMIT SAID HANDLE END AND SAID CLAMP MEMBER TO BE DRAWN TOWARD EACH OTHER INTO CLOSE ENOUGH PROXIMITY TO CAUSE SAID MEMBER TO CLAMP SAID BODY OF THRUMS AGAINST SAID CLAMP FRAME WITH SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL SURFACES OF BOTH SIDES OF THE BODY OF THRUMS EXPOSED TO AMBIENT AIR, WHEREBY BOTH SAID CLAMP MEMBER AND SAID CLAMP FRAME ARE FREE TO BE SEPARATED COMPLETELY FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM SAID HANDLE TO PERMIT UNENCUMBERED REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF SAID BODY OF MOP THRUMS. 